


Battlefield

by Xenokroma



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 11:18:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12580636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenokroma/pseuds/Xenokroma
Summary: Adrian shares a rare moment of vulnerability with RJ.





	Battlefield

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my second one-shot about Adrian and MacCready! This one takes place a few weeks after they get into a romantic relationship with one another.
> 
> I'll eventually make a series to organize all these once I have a good idea for a title lol.

RJ closed his eyes and stretched his legs as he made himself comfortable on his bed. Nighttime had yet to come, but the day had been long and his aching body craved an afternoon of rest. As he folded his arms behind his head, a sleepy smile slung itself across RJ’s cheeks as a set of familiar footsteps resonated through the house. The sound of equipment being laid on the kitchen table before hastily being put away indicated that Adrian had completed his work for the day.

RJ opened his eyes when Adrian poked his head through the doorway.

“Hey, baby,” RJ murmured, his heart fluttering as the sheepish grin appeared on his boyfriend’s face.

“Mind if I join you?” Adrian asked with a wink.

“Nah, too busy,” RJ quipped. Adrian cocked his head in response, and RJ immediately corrected himself, remembering that the older man often had to wrestle with sarcasm. He motioned for Adrian to come and join him. “I’m kidding, c’mere.”

The confusion disappeared from Adrian’s face as he strode into the room, removing his glasses before taking his place on the bed next to RJ. RJ started to roll over onto his side, only to be pinned down when Adrian laid his hairy head on his chest. Adrian’s thick beard hairs tickled RJ’s chest as he laid his arm in the crook of his neck.

“Hey there, big guy.”

Adrian let out a content hum as he buried his face in RJ’s chest. RJ ran his fingers through Adrian’s dark, shoulder-length hair. It was no secret that Adrian loved it when RJ played with his hair, but this time he clung to his boyfriend as if he were hanging on for dear life. 

As RJ stroked Adrian’s hair, he could practically feel all of the thoughts and feelings swirling through his head like a cyclone. He would never be able to understand what Adrian was thinking, but he knew all too well what he was _feeling_ : the grief, the guilt, the confusion… the _fear_. Adrian stood six-foot four inches and had a lean, muscular build. His arms were entirely covered in tattoos, and his long, wavy hair and his beard made him appear more like a grizzly bear than a human. Even when alone with RJ, it was rare for Adrian to visibly show any fear, no matter how much it was overwhelming him.

That was the thing about living in a world where one constantly had to wear armor; all that leather and metal would eventually sink into its wearer’s mind and soul. Adrian, indeed, had emotions that were thickly clad in layers upon layers of bulletproof armor. 

On the rare occasions when Adrian undid all of the buckles and let all of that steel slowly melt away, RJ had vowed to always be there to hold onto him.

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let anything happen to you. You know that, right?” RJ assured Adrian before nuzzling the top of his head. 

Adrian’s once-rare displays of vulnerability were becoming more and more common ever since he’d opened up to RJ atop Vault 111 several weeks ago. Once he’d seen that RJ wasn’t simply going to dismiss and invalidate his feelings, Adrian slowly became more and more willing to take his armor off around him.

“I’m sorry for being such a jerk,” Adrian murmured, fidgeting with the pale fabric of RJ’s shirt as he spoke. RJ wasn’t sure how to respond; even he had to admit that Adrian had lost control of his emotions and blown up at him several times. Contrary to his calm demeanor and cool temperament, Adrian had a terrific temper when provoked. Despite how little control Adrian often seemed to have, he’d never hurt RJ, although sometimes he had feared that he might.

But on the fateful night that Adrian had finally revealed his true life story, RJ finally got a peek into his partner’s troubled soul. The pain, and the grief, and the regret all threatened to draw and quarter his soul. RJ could see, now, that sometimes it was all too much for Adrian to handle at the same time. But he was trying. He was trying so very hard, fighting tooth and nail even if he didn’t understand what he was fighting against or why.

RJ quickly realized that this was why Adrian had a borderline obsession with the Minutemen; as long as he had a sniper rifle in his hands and combat armor strapped to his body, he knew what he was fighting for. He had a reason to live. But when the guns were put away and the armor taken off, Adrian found himself fighting an entirely different battle. 

A battle that RJ was going to help him win.

“You’re not a jerk, Adi.”

“I’ve been acting like one,” Adrian argued. He bit on his lip, trying to scrape together the right words to atone for his errors.

“But you’ve been through so much,” RJ said in attempt to alleviate some of his boyfriend’s guilt, “anybody would have trouble dealing with that.”

“But that doesn’t mean it was right for me to take it out on you,” Adrian said, “you deserve better than that.”

That particular statement caught RJ off guard. As tired as he got of being kicked around by nearly everyone he’d ever met, he’d never thought of himself as _deserving_ anything. Adrian was the kind of person who would help anybody that needed a hand, so RJ had just assumed that his acts of kindness towards him were just a part of his personality.

Suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of emotion and tenderness, RJ wrapped his arms around Adrian, pulling the larger man closer to him. Adrian shifted, the weight of his body now pressing comfortably against RJ, flooding him with a sense of warmth and safety. Although he was half Adrian’s size, RJ hoped he could make Adrian feel that safe as well.

“I love you,” RJ murmured as he and Adrian entangled one another with their limbs. 

“I love you too, Robbie.”

RJ let out a fond chuckle; Adrian was the only person on the face of the Earth who could call him that and walk away with his head still attached. Adrian must have been able to sense that; he only used the nickname in their most private, tender moments. RJ hated being called anything but “MacCready”, or “RJ” by his friends, but something about the way Adrian said that particular name was utterly endearing. Adrian had a fruity voice that was as rich, warm, and soothing as a hot drink on an icy day. RJ found himself mesmerized by his voice no matter what he said or what nickname he called him.

Adrian sleepily lifted his head from RJ’s chest, propping himself up as he scooted up the mattress until their eyes met. Adrian had eyes like a vast forest that RJ could lose himself in - a forest untouched by the misery and radiation that had befallen the world. RJ was perfectly comfortable with getting lost, for he knew that Adrian would always help him find his way.

RJ stroked Adrian’s cheek as their foreheads brushed together. He ran his thumb across Adrian’s coarse, hairy beard, remembering how often he’d spiralled into a giggling fit as a result of its tickling touch on his face while they kissed. 

RJ gently tucked a lock of Adrian’s hair behind his ear, watching as his electric green eyes looked him over as if trying to commit every single one of his features to memory.

“You have the sexiest cheekbones,” Adrian murmured. He ran his thumb over RJ’s cheekbone as he spoke, sending an excited shiver down his spine. Such a compliment was new to RJ; he’d heard plenty of remarks in the past about his eyes and hair, but barely anyone had cared enough to take a good, hard look at him. Adrian, however, possessed an attention to detail that outclassed almost everyone around him. The man did everything with extreme precision whether he was in the workshop or in the bedroom. 

RJ found his eyes drifting to Adrian’s lips as he thought about all the little ways Adrian knew how to push his buttons in bed. RJ hadn’t exactly kissed a lot of people before, but he couldn’t imagine anyone else in the world being as good a kisser as Adrian was.

Adrian, not failing to notice where RJ was now looking, gently cupped his face before leaning in for a kiss. It felt like a gun had gone off inside of RJ’s chest as Adrian’s warm lips pressed against his; the feeling felt so new but oh so familiar. 

The thing about kissing Adrian was that it always felt just as exciting and new and terrifying as the first time. RJ could never get over how soft and warm his lips felt against his, and how strong his hands felt as they caressed his arms. RJ had even grown to love the way Adrian’s beard poked and prodded at his sensitive cheeks. 

Eventually, the two of them pulled apart, once again lying with their foreheads brushing against one another. Adrian gently ran his fingertips across RJ’s cheek before cupping his face yet again. 

As he and Adrian stared at one another, RJ realized that the two felt very much the same. They both had their darker aspects and their emotional outbursts, but at the end of the day, all they really had was each other. Neither one of them had asked to live their entire life on a battlefield. On a battlefield, surviving and defeating the “enemy” was more important than anything else, and one couldn’t simply do that alone.

Adrian ran a hand through RJ’s light brown hair before turning onto his back, pulling the smaller man close to him with a muscular arm. RJ closed his eyes, feeling a sense of comfort envelope him as he rested his head on Adrian’s chest. 

“We’ll get through all this,” RJ whispered as he cuddled up to Adrian, “together.”

RJ closed his eyes, and allowed himself to be gently lulled to sleep by the sound of Adrian’s heartbeat. Sleeping next to Adrian was one of the few times RJ ever felt genuinely safe. When he wanted to escape the neverending battlefield that his entire world had become, Adrian was the most dependable armor of all.


End file.
